


skinned knees and love

by parkrstark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Fluff and Angst, May and Ben and Peter are adorable, Pre-Spider-Man: Homecoming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 22:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12640965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkrstark/pseuds/parkrstark
Summary: May never wanted kids. So how did this little boy steal her heart?





	skinned knees and love

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt: "can you write a fic that focuses on may's change of attitude. Like she never wanted kids but then suddenly she has to take care of peter. she ends up loving it ofc"

May had dreams. She was going to travel the world. Her future had no room for a husband or kids or a family. That would only hold her back. Traveling the world required something she didn’t have much of—money.

Which was how she found herself spending almost every night at the diner just a block away from her apartment. Waitressing didn’t pay a lot in the paycheck, but on good nights, she was taking home almost $100 in tips. It was all going into her savings. She’d start in Italy and work her way around the map.

Cleaning tables and serving food was going to get her there. She knew it.

 

Flirting was a part of the job and scheme to get more in tips. It happened a lot. She was a young and attractive woman; many men came in willing to pay a little extra for a sultry smile. 

Her favorite customer was a cute guy that always came in close to three in the morning wearing his NYPD uniform. He flirted like any other guy when she gave him the attention, but he was different. He was sincere and was in it for more than just the lingering stares; he started conversation with her and was more interested in talking with her than just exchanging coy grins.

May hadn’t meant to let herself fall for him. She was always strictly single for now and for the rest of her life—that is until she finished exploring. But, when she was with this man she didn’t want to let go; she was rethinking everything she’d thought.

He was sweet and handsome and funny. He even walked her to her apartment at the end of every shift. She was glad he was always still on duty and his meal break was ending soon or else she would have invited him up.

 

As luck would have it, he was the one that invited her. Not back to his apartment but to something a little nicer, a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant. She knew he was trying to impress her and it was adorable. She could see how uncomfortable he looked in his suit and tie as they waited to check in for their reservation. May looked around at the dimly lit restaurant where the women were in dresses and the men were in suits as they ate their steaks and drank their wines that were probably worth more than a cop’s paycheck.

She turned back to him and smiled. “Do you wanna get out of here? Maybe grab a beer at Murphy’s?”

His shoulders sagged and she could see the relief in his eyes. “Definitely.”

She laughed, grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the city streets.

 

A year later, she was sitting at the same booth they had their first date in and was laughing hysterically at something he said. The pub was small and they didn’t serve wines or seafood or all that other fancy shit. But she was fine with a burger in her hand, a beer on the table and the love of her life in front of her.

_Love of her life._

She wasn’t sure when the cop that kept her company at the diner became her best friend. One day she was saving up for her first class ticket to Europe and then the next, she was saving up for an apartment. She liked the change. She could see herself traveling the world with him by her side. She couldn’t picture the trips without him.

She wanted him with her forever, but she never thought about marriage. Not until that night in the old pub when she looked up from eating a fry and he was on his knee next to her. Before she could get a word out to figure out _what the fuck_ was going on, he spoke.

“May Reilly, you are the most beautiful woman in the world. You’re my best friend and the only person I could see myself creating a future with. I love you so much, more than you know. Would you do me the honor of being my wife?” He held up a ring that sparkled under the lights.

For once in her life, May wasn’t thinking about her plans that she’d had since she was a teenager. She was thinking about spending her life with the best man in the world. She was imagining an arm wrapped around her as her husband introduced her, “This is my wife May Parker.” She smiled. May and Benjamin Parker. She liked that.

She nodded her head furiously. “Of course, you idiot!”

His eyes widened. “Really? I--.”

She interrupted him by jumping from her seat into his arms. She kissed his lips as the other people around them clapped and whistled.

 

May’s savings went to pay for the wedding when they were married a few months later.

She thought she’d be more upset knowing the money she had collected for years was being spent all in one night, but she wasn’t. She had the best night of her life going from table to table seeing everybody and introducing herself as May Parker. _Finally_.

Ben’s little brother Richard was there with his wife Mary and their son. Ben and Richard were like ying and yang. Ben was tall and buff-- the tough one. Richard wasn’t as vertically blessed and was more on the nerdier side. It was Brains and Brawn.

Despite their differences, they loved each other dearly.

When they went over to their table, Richard stood up and said, “Congrats, you two!”

Ben picked him up in a bone crushing hug and whispered, “Thanks, baby brother.” May thought she saw tears in his eyes, but maybe that was just the lighting.

Mary looked over at her and smiled warmly. “I’m so happy for you.” She bounced a toddler on her hips. “Maybe soon little Peter will have a playmate, huh?”

May stared at the kid, her new nephew, and forced a smile she hoped was believable. She had heard the stories of no sleep and no social life because of Peter and while he was a great kid, if a little loud and excitable, May was glad she didn’t have to worry about a kid.

She had told Ben the first night after they babysat Peter she didn’t want kids, never in a million years. She was ready for him to dump her right there. But he only laughed and said he didn’t need anyone else but her.

 

3 years later, the knock on the door came and changed May’s plans. All over again.

 

“I’m sorry, May,” Ben said quietly after he spent hours locked in his room where May knew he was crying. “I know you didn’t want this, but we can’t just leave him to the system.”

May took his hands and pulled him close to her. “No, baby, you don’t need to apologize for this. _I’m_ sorry for what happened. I mean, it’s your brother--.”

“No!” Ben interrupted her. “I can’t…not now, May.”

May nodded her head, not wanting to make him anymore upset. “Okay, I get it. So, for now what do you want to do about…him?” She turned to stare over at the couch where the six-year-old boy was sitting on the coach. He was hunched over and staring intently as his lap. He hadn’t moved since that morning when the woman from social services dropped him off.

Ben followed her gaze and he quickly turned away again. “I don’t…can you talk to him? I have to…I just need a few minutes to myself.” He turned away and hurried back down the hall to their bedroom where he’d been all morning.

May sighed and wondered if she should go after him. She decided against it when she looked back over to the little boy. She may not have wanted to be a parent, but he needed her and she was going to be there for him.

She kneeled by him and placed a hand on his knee. “Hey, Peter,” she whispered. “Baby,” she tried again when there was no response. “I know…” she trailed off because, no, she _didn’t_ know. She had no idea what Peter was going through. He just lost his parents and was dropped off at a new house.

Peter wiped his eye under his glasses with his little fist. May felt her heart break when she heard him sniffle.

“Do…do you want to talk about it?” May asked, hesitantly.

He jerked his head in a quick ‘no’.

“Okay, but I’m here if you need anything. Anything you want in this apartment is yours now. Just ask, or help yourself.” She tried to smile, but he wasn’t even watching her. She sighed deeply and stood up. She had two Parker boys heartbroken and she had no idea what to do.

She wanted to click with Peter. She wanted him to be happy here and she wanted to enjoy having him as her son. Because there was no getting out of this anymore. Whether May liked it or not, Peter was their boy now.

 

For days after, she tried to see Peter as her own son. He was only a kid; he deserved a normal childhood with a family. But he wasn’t the Peter she had come to know. He didn’t speak or smile or do anything else other than mope around the house.

She understood that he wouldn’t be fine, but she wished he would try. Even Richard had come out of his hole after a bit. But, Peter still hadn’t spoken a word.

Not until the night May woke up to a soft tapping at her door. She blinked her eyes open and saw a small shadow in her doorway. “Aunt May…can I sleep with you?”

May sat up straighter. “Yes, of course, baby, come on in.” She patted the bed between her and Ben.

Peter hesitated, but started walking in slowly. While he made his way in, May shook Ben awake. “Ben,” she whispered. “Ben, wake up.”

He grunted, and peeked his eyes open. “Wha’?”

May nodded her head towards the edge of the bed where Peter was pulling himself up. Ben sat up and looked to where she was motioning to. His eyes widened when he saw Peter crawling up to them.  Ben and May shared a look of hope.

May pulled the blanket up so he could lay down between them. May watched him close his eyes and try and sleep. Ben smiled at her before he let his eyes close again. May stayed awake, watching and waiting for Peter to really fall asleep.

A few minutes later, she saw him shift and his eyes fluttered open. She squeezed hers shut so he wouldn’t know she awake. She held her breath, waiting to see what would happen. Seconds later, she felt the mattress shift and something small and warm press against his chest.  

May opened her eyes and smiled softly down at the little boy that had moved to snuggle with her. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her. Ben’s voice broke the silence. “So, can we keep him?”

May looked up at him and smiled. She leaned forward and kissed his lips. “The only one I’m debating about keeping is you,” she teased.

Ben ran his hand through Peter’s hair. “He grows on you.”

“Yeah,” May said softly. “He does.”

 

And just like Ben promised, he did.

 

 

Before she knew it, she was kissing his scraped knees, trying to keep up with his intelligence, tucking him in before bed, singing him to sleep, and doing everything she could to make him happy.

She wasn’t sure when her outlook on children changed. Maybe it was when Peter grabbed her hand one night and whispered, “I love you, May.” Maybe it was when she realized she knew all of Peter’s quirks: the foods he hated, the songs he liked to sing along to and the science jokes he giggled too hard at. Maybe it was when she watched Ben wrestle with him and tickle his belly until he was gasping for air and begging for a break. Maybe it was when Peter snuggled next to her and Ben on the couch during movie nights.

Whenever it was, she slowly saw the three of them become a family. She looked into those big brown eyes every day and didn’t see her brother-in-law’s kid; she saw _her baby_. And that was never going to change.  

**Author's Note:**

> send me your prompts on tumblr! [peter-tony.tumblr.com](https://peter-tony.tumblr.com/ask)


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